


Reluctant Support

by BlueRaith



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Because their friendship is a red-light-green-light mess, F/F, They legit drive each other crazy, Wynaught Bro-tp, but it's not all fun and games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11479038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRaith/pseuds/BlueRaith
Summary: Nicole notices that Wynonna's pregnant. Because she's not oblivious and the Earp sisters are actually pretty terrible at keeping secrets. Nicole knows Waverly, though. She's going to worry endlessly that Wynonna's not taking care of herself. So that means Nicole will have to take care of her. For Waverly. And sort of Wynonna.





	Reluctant Support

The Earps held secrets about as well as a tin can filled with water. With holes poked through the bottom. Nicole lov— _cared_ about Waverly, she really did, but there was no denying that her girlfriend had a _terrible_ poker face.

“Waves,” she asked casually while they sat, eating lunch. “Is your sister feeling okay?”

Nicole knew the answer already. Wynonna Earp was pregnant. Between Wynonna nearly flashing Nicole with her… larger chest size, the way she had reacted when Nicole innocently suggested she go shopping, and Waverly apparently cutting off her sister's caffeine supply, Nicole knew there were only a few reasons why.

Caffeine and Wynonna were practically married to each other. Nicole believed that the _only_ thing she loved more that it was booze. And speaking of, over the last week, Nicole hadn't so much as smelled alcohol coming off Wynonna's breath. Nor has she been drunk at the homestead when Nicole visited. Which was really unusual. Just as unusual as Waverly insisting her stubborn, bull headed sister that she needed to drink less caffeine. Waves was the most optimistic person Nicole had ever met, however even Waverly would have balked at convincing Wynonna to give up one of her vices. There had to be a reason behind that.

But it had taken Nicole a few days to put the pieces together. At first, she had simply dismissed the Earp sisters’ odd behavior as them being their typical weird selves. Waverly was the single most interesting person Nicole knew, but Nicole had to admit that her girlfriend was a little eccentric. Pair that with Wynonna’s signature irreverent attitude and paranoid behavior, and the Earp sisters became quite the pair when they were together. It was definitely never boring around them.

What ended up giving them away completely was how the both of them reacted to innocent questions or statements. Wynonna was a better liar, but that didn’t really mean she was _great_ at it. She was just better than Waverly. Which really wasn’t saying much. A few comments about why Wynonna was seemingly always sober these days drew uncomfortable laughs and scoffs. Her jokes, something Nicole learned quickly that Wynonna hid behind, were a bit off point and awkward instead of clever or biting like they typically were.

And Waverly. Oh, Waves was the worst.

“What?” Waverly asked. Her voice was high pitched and she fidgeted with her hands. “Why wouldn’t she be? Of course she is. Healthy as a horse. Why? Did she say anything? I told her to drink her tea…. It would have settled her stomach. Not that she needed to settle her stomach. She just mentioned feeling a little nauseous this morning, is all.”

Nicole raised a single eyebrow. “I thought you said she was ‘healthy as a horse’?”

Maybe it was a little mean to tease Waves, but Nicole was trying to confirm her theory. That, and teasing Waverly always got her to pinch her brow in that adorable way that Nicole hadn’t seen much of while she was possessed. She wasn’t intending to keep this up for too long. _That_ would be mean.

“Psh,” Waverly laughed off forcefully. “Of course she is! Full bill of health.”

“What’s that you're working on?” Nicole changed the subject abruptly. She tried not to think about how this would be the same way she would question a suspect. Waverly wasn’t guilty of anything other than keeping her sister’s private life private.

It wasn’t that Nicole resented that Waverly was keeping this from her. This secret was _completely_ different than all the times Nicole was kept out of the loop with the supernatural incidences in this town. Wynonna’s private life was just that, and it wasn’t Waverly’s secret to tell. The only reason Nicole was even bothering trying to get to the bottom of this was that it was obviously stressing Waverly out. Nicole had promised she would always be there for her girlfriend, and she intended to do just that. Waverly didn’t _have_ to tell her anything. Nicole could be discreet, help keep Wynonna from getting into _too_ much trouble, and bring Waverly some much needed peace in her life.

Neither of them needed to know that she knew.

“Oh… uh. Well…,” Waverly bit her lip, as if trying to determine whether she wanted to be honest about what she was doing. After a few moments, she nodded determinedly and met Nicole’s gaze head on. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’m sure you probably noticed, but Wynonna’s given up drinking.”

“Has she,” Nicole wasn’t asking. Everyone had noticed, and it was a constant subject over at Shorty’s between all the bar flies. Wynonna Earp not stepping foot in a bar in a few _weeks?_ That was just unnatural. According to the citizens of Purgatory, at least.

“Yep.” Waverly sighed heavily. “I’m trying to help her keep at it. I don’t think she’d _mean_ to go back on this, but you know Wynonna. She can be a little impulsive.”

“A little?”

“Okay, okay. _A lot_ impulsive.” Waverly pouted at her. _“Anyway,_ I just want to make sure that if she changes her mind over this, it’s not something she’ll regret later. Whatever she decides to do, it’s not like she can take it back. It needs to be a choice she makes while she’s not too emotional or upset or remembering bad memories or doubting herself or—”

“You want her to be careful. For once,” Nicole finished for her. She didn’t bother asking _why_ Wynonna couldn’t just change her mind if all she was worried about was kicking her alcoholic behavior. The both of them knew that this wasn’t about that at all, and there wasn’t much point in wasting time. Ultimately the point was looking after Wynonna. Without Wynonna noticing and getting defensive about it, because that was a surefire way to get Wynonna Earp to do something stupid.

“Yeah. She’s not too good at that. I know that Wynonna hides booze all over the place. I’ve searched the homestead from top to bottom and threw out everything I could find. Some of it was pretty top notch stuff,” Waverly said a bit wistfully. “But, booze can be replaced.”

Implying that whatever Waverly was protecting couldn’t be.

“And now I’m going after everything in the sheriff’s office. Only problem is that I don’t know the sheriff’s office like I do the homestead. And Wynonna seems to be a _lot_ more creative in her hiding spaces here than at home. Did you know I found a bottle of whiskey in the _air vents?_ Like, the ones in the ceiling! Wynonna’s tall, but jeeze. It took me _forever_ to get up there to look. And then I accidentally pushed the chair over that I was using for a stool….”

Nicole bit her lip to keep from herself from chortling a little. Waverly was pretty small. The mental image that was getting painted for her was funny. And clearly Waverly ended up getting back to the ground in one piece.

“Well, I could help you look,” Nicole offered. There were a few places she knew for sure Wynonna used as stashes. Mostly because Nicole’s caught her hiding away bottles with her own eyes. Hey, she was here way more often than Waves was. And it wasn’t as if she _hasn’t_ drank with Wynonna on the job before. That had been irresponsible of her, but it also meant that Nicole wasn’t in a position to judge Wynonna for her habits. So long as Wynonna wasn’t a complete mess at the station, Nicole was content to leave her be.

Or getting too mean. Nicole wasn’t exactly Mean-and-Drunken Wynonna’s biggest fan.

“No, I can’t ask you to do that,” Waverly said. “What if someone sees you with something and thinks it’s yours?”

“I could tell them the truth. Or part of it. That I’ve been finding alcohol smuggled into different parts of the station. Waves, Wynonna’s not _nearly_ as bad as most people think, but she’s already got a reputation here. Most are probably going to assume that she’s the one doing it,” Nicole pointed out bluntly. “I’m sure she’s not going to want it getting out that she’s trying to get sober. I’m sure she’d probably think that would hurt her badass, bad girl rep. All ‘finding’ her stashes would do is convince everyone even more that Wynonna doesn’t follow the rules here.”

Waverly grimaced, and Nicole felt a little guilty. Wynonna’s reputation was a bit of a sore subject for her girlfriend. The both of them knew that Wynonna Earp deserved far more recognition than she got. Most folks here thought she was an insane lunatic barely keeping it together. Which was a huge, stinking lie.

But, Nicole also knew about the Earp Curse. She understood why Wynonna wanted this kept quiet for a reason other than the fact that impending motherhood was probably freaking her the hell out. _If_ she decided to keep this kid, it meant that the baby would become an automatic target for less than savory characters. One of the best defenses the baby was going to have was Wynonna’s crazy girl reputation. So long as the people of Purgatory thought of her as badly as they already did, no one was going to suspect that Wynonna was acting even _more_ oddly than she usually was for any reason beyond that she was the town’s pariah.

Honestly, there was a lot of things to like in Purgatory, but Nicole wasn’t a huge fan of how closed minded and judgemental the people here could be. However, this time, it would be an advantage to them, as horrible as that was.

“Yeah. That’d probably work,” Waverly agreed. Reluctantly.

“I’ll try my best to be discreet, Waves. If we can keep people from asking questions in the first place, then that’s going to be the best outcome.”

* * *

 

“What the _hell_ are you doing?!”

Nicole cringed. It had taken a few hours for most of the other sheriff’s deputies to clear the break room, and Nicole had taken the first opportunity to raid it. No one hid booze here other than Wynonna, after all.

Except, ironically, all she and Waverly had worried about was _other_ people catching her in the act.

Not Wynonna herself.

Slowly, Nicole turned around from the highest shelf in the top cabinet. There were a few bottles pushed all the way in the back. She had already emptied two in the sink, and had just grabbed the third. Wynonna undoubtedly spotted the still full bottle in Nicole’s hand.

And it didn’t take her long for her gaze to spot the empty bottles sitting at the edge of the sink. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and Nicole sighed inwardly. She wasn’t afraid of Wynonna’s ire. Just exasperated with it, at this point. God only knew that she was tired of arguing with her girlfriend’s sister. They hadn’t argued in days, and Nicole had been enjoying it. Hell, they’d even been _friendly_ with each other. Which shouldn’t be as notable as it was, Nicole supposed. Wynonna _was_ her friend after all.

Most days.

Sort of.

Some days were better than others.

And Wynonna _did_ have a penchant for taking offense on Waverly’s behalf at the drop of a hat.

No matter _how many_ times Nicole proved to her that she wasn’t about to hurt Waverly.

Not that she went out of her way to prove herself to _Wynonna._ Nicole was kind to Waverly for Waverly.

 _At any rate,_ they’d been on pretty good terms. Great in fact. The worst thing Nicole had wanted to strangle Wynonna for lately was the dirty jokes she’d make about her and Waverly. She did it on purpose at the most embarrassing times. Like in front of Nedley.

Nicole wasn’t looking forward to getting back onto Wynonna’s bad side, essentially.

Probably best not to bullshit. Too much at least.

“Dumping the booze,” she admitted.

Wynonna’s glare became even more pronounced. As if that were possible.

“Why?”

“Nedley found a few of your bottles. He wants me to get rid of all of it. He knows it’s you hiding them.”

“Uh-huh,” Wynonna said.

“Yeah. Something about throwing you in the drunk tank, sober or not, if he finds another one in his station.”

Wynonna crossed her arms and looked Nicole up and down for a few moments. Finally, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Okay, I get it. You have a pretty good poker face, Haught-stuff, but I know that Nedley doesn’t give a damn about a few bottles of whiskey hidden here and there. He keeps his own damn stuff in his office. Wave has got you doing this, hasn’t she?”

Before Nicole could answer, Wynonna’s eyes suddenly widened before she stormed up to Nicole and grabbed the front of her uniform in a tight fist. “She _told_ you didn’t she?” Wynonna’s growl was something else. Pretty authentic and threatening if Nicole actually thought Wynonna would do anything.

Now it was her turn to glare at Wynonna. Nicole grabbed the fist at her shirt and yanked it off. She took a moment to straighten her uniform. Spitefully, maybe. Just a little. Nicole had taken the time iron it at 4 AM, after all.

“All she told me was that you’re trying to get sober,” Nicole wasn’t lying. It _was_ all Waverly had told her. Consciously at least. “She cares about you, and wants to help you. Which you and I both know means she _worries_ about it. She had a list of potential hiding spots penciled into a hand drawn blueprint of the station. Mapped out to which rooms, hallways, and closets you're closest to throughout the day, according to your schedule. Come on, Wynonna, do you really think I was just going to let her drive herself crazy over this?”

Waves was nothing if not _extremely_ persistent in anything that she did. From tracking Black Badge suspects to relearning a high school cheerleading routine just for Nicole’s enjoyment. _God,_ could Waves be thorough.

And Nicole _wasn’t_ going to go down that line of thought in front of her girlfriend’s sister. It was bad enough Wynonna cock blocked them all the time. She didn’t need her catching Nicole thinking of Waverly in less than innocent situations on top of that.

Wynonna huffed irritably and stepped back. “You’re whipped worse than a racehorse, Haught. _Fine,”_ she gestured wildly with her hand towards the bottle Nicole held. “Dump it. It’s some expensive as fuck stuff, but I’m sure the sink will appreciate it. Damn, couldn’t you have at least taken it for yourself? At least _someone_ could have enjoyed it. But no, you’re a regular Princess Girl Scout, aren’t you? Probably wearing some granny panties, too, freaking square, prissy—”

The last bit was muttered under Wynonna’s breath, but she was still close enough for Nicole to hear her.

“Nope. Waves really appreciates my underwear choices, thank you.” Nicole took pleasure in the disgusted scowl Wynonna gave her. “As for the booze, yeah, I’m not drinking it in the middle of the day, on the job.”

“Didn’t stop you before,” Wynonna sneered, referencing the only time she and Nicole had ever drank together. By themselves.

“That was at night, remember?” Nicole smiled innocently, then grew serious. “And yeah, that last time was a mistake. Not _talking_ with you,” she quickly clarified before Wynonna’s expression could turn too stormy. “But the drinking, yeah. I don’t plan on doing that again.”

“Ugh, you would have been intolerable sober, Bumper-sticker.”

“And you’re not much better while going through withdrawal.”

“I’m not in _withdrawal._ I’m getting pissed off that my sister apparently has to enlist her stick-up-her-ass girlfriend to meddle in my life.”

Nicole disagreed. Part of this was definitely withdrawal. And pregnancy hormones. While mixed with Wynonna’s acerbic personality. Nicole wasn’t a fan of blaming a woman’s irrational behavior _entirely_ on pregnancy hormones. It was a factor, but never the entire picture. She hated dismissing someone’s feelings like that. Even someone as annoying as Wynonna.

No, Wynonna was Wynonna, and she wasn’t going to be pleasant to deal with while her booze was getting taken away. Pregnancy was simply going to make her fuse _a little_ shorter than usual.

“Are you fourteen? ‘Haught-stuff, you’re ruining my life!’” She said in her best imitation of Wynonna’s voice.

“I _do not_ sound like that, Haught,” Wynonna said, and roughly poked Nicole in the chest. But, in the next second, she snorted. “I didn’t think you did impressions. That one was terrible, but you’re usually way too boring to dish it back like that.”

“I don’t think you’ve spent enough time around me to know that,” Nicole said flatly. “At least, not while you _aren’t_ insulting me at every opportunity. All we do is wind each other up, Wynonna.”

For her credit, Wynonna seemed to mull over that for a few moments. Eventually she shrugged and turned away to walk out of the room. “Whatever. I can get more booze anytime I want. See you later, Haught.”

Well, that wasn’t _fun,_ but it certainly went better than Nicole expected. She roughly undid the bottle’s top and poured it. Perhaps with more enjoyment than was strictly necessary.

* * *

 

Waverly didn’t have to tell Nicole about the next possible disaster in Operation Keep Wynonna From Sabotaging Her Own Pregnancy. Nope, Nicole was front and center for this one. Admittedly it wasn’t nearly as much of a potential hazard for Baby Earp as Wynonna’s whiskey stashes were, but it was a danger all the same.

Because if this wasn’t dealt with, Nicole was probably going to end up strangling Wynonna herself.

“Look at him,” Wynonna was leaned against _Nicole’s_ desk, out of the many she could have turned into a makeshift chair in the bullpen, and was muttering darkly under her breath.

Didn’t she have her own offices?

“He’s doing it on _purpose.”_

Nicole resisted the urge to slam her head down onto her keyboard in pure, unadulterated exasperation.

 _“Earp,”_ she growled out. “What are you crying about?”

Wynonna gestured towards one of the other deputies, Matthews, rudely. _“Him._ Matherson, or whatever the fuck his name is.”

“Matthews?” Nicole asked, probably unnecessarily as Wynonna was unlikely to learn his name any time soon. “What about him?”

As far as Nicole could tell, Matthews was typing a report at his desk while eating a donut.

One of the white, powdered ones.

Well, damn.

_Really?!_

“He’s eating _my_ donut!”

Nicole began rubbing her temples. “Earp. Was your name on that donut? Are you really going to _pout_ over a cheap, second rate pastry?”

Wynonna gave an affronted gasp and spun to face Nicole directly. “You take that back! Those fucking donuts are the only reason I can tolerate dealing with your flatfoot-khaki-patrol at five in the morning, every day!”

“We don’t wear khakis anymore,” Nicole said through gritted teeth.

“Haught, can you focus on what’s _actually_ important? He took _my_ donut! Everyone knows the powdered ones are _mine._ The fucking assholes took them all on purpose!”

“Oh my _God.”_

Nicole stood up abruptly and gathered her coat. She couldn’t take this anymore. Matthews would have to fend for himself if Wynonna decided to assault him over a fucking donut. Nicole couldn’t stand to listen to Wynonna whine over this for another second. Waverly probably wouldn’t approve of her arresting her pregnant, older sister and throwing her into the nearest isolated cell.

“Where are you going?” Wynonna asked, as if insulted that she wasn’t going to have an audience to listen to her rant any longer.

“Patrol,” Nicole grunted.

And she did. Go out for patrol, that is. For a little while.

Nicole wasn’t ready to admit to herself that the only reason she left the station was to go to the goddamn donut shop.

Nope, she specifically went on auto-pilot, went to the donut shop she _never_ goes to because donuts were probably the laziest form of breakfast pastry that existed on this earth—and Nicole _wasn’t_ going to be a fucking stereotypical donut eating cop, no ma’am—and ordered _two_ white powdered donuts.

When she finally did get back to the station, Matthews had apparently noticed that his life was in danger and was trying to avoid Wynonna’s murderous glare as best he could. His head was ducked behind his computer screen and he mouthed ‘help’ as soon as Nicole walked through the door.

“Here, dammit,” Nicole snapped and threw the bag she was carrying at Wynonna’s chest.

The baby, after all, wasn’t the one driving Nicole _insane._

“Ouch, shit, Haught-head, they’re fucking _sensitive,_ you ass,” Wynonna threw up her middle finger, but opened the bag all the same.

“Haught-head?” Nicole groaned. “Really? That’s the best you have, Earp? That one’s the laziest of them all. You’re better than that.”

“Shut up,” Wynonna said through a mouthful of donut. “I can’t think without getting a balanced breakfast in the morning.”

She sat back at her desk with a sigh. “It’s a fried hunk of dough. There’s nothing balanced about it.”

“Shh,” was all she got in response. Wynonna was making positively indecent groans as she ate the damn thing. “Oh, and you got _two._ Damn, Haught. I’m starting to see why my sister bothers with you.”

“Thanks,” Nicole said flatly. “Now get your ass off my desk. Aren’t you supposed to be in _your_ office? Where’s Dolls at, anyway?”

Really, Nicole could scarcely believe that Dolls, one of the most uptight people Nicole had ever met, hadn’t personally dragged Wynonna back to work by now.

“I’un’ow,” Wynonna, ever eloquent, answered through a mouthful. But she did get off Nicole’s desk and began to strut back to the Black Badge office. As if she were a dragon appeased by its offering and returning back to its den, no longer terrorizing the poor peasants of the village.

Nicole wasn’t going to tell anyone that she pictured herself the knight in this metaphor. Wynonna probably wouldn’t ever let her live it down.

From that morning forward, Nicole made _sure_ that there was at least one stupid, white powdered donut left for Wynonna. Even if she had to take it herself and put it on Earp’s desk, Dolls’s glares that she hadn’t knocked be damned.

* * *

 

Nicole was actually excited this morning. It was the first supernatural crime scene she’d been allowed to be a part of. And, for the most part, Wynonna was professional enough to not get on her last nerve today.

In fact, she was almost being outright pleasant. Wynonna was still making her quips, because she wouldn’t be Wynonna without them, but they weren’t being made at Nicole’s expense today. They were mostly macabre in nature, but Nicole was a cop. Most of her coworkers dealt with the ugly parts of their job with dark humor themselves.

“So, what made this guy lose his head?” Wynonna said, teeth chattering, as she gestured to all the creepy post-it notes stuck to the walls of this guy’s hotel room.

He was also headless. Nicole wasn’t about to claim that Wynonna’s jokes were _original_ today.

She was listening as Dolls began to list all the many demons that apparently enjoyed beheading people—and there was a disturbing amount—but couldn’t help noticing that Wynonna was still shivering. She wasn’t wearing a coat, and they had been told by management that the hotel’s heater was out. It _was_ the cheapest, grungiest hotel in town, so it wasn’t surprising.

Great.

Nicole knew that she couldn’t just offer Wynonna her coat without her immediately rejecting it out of pure pride. Dolls, perhaps, could get away with it, but he was too wrapped up in examining the crime scene. Men. Completely oblivious.

Without giving a visible reaction to how _freaking_ cold it was in the room, Nicole took her coat off and draped it over an unused chair. Thankfully they had already went over it for evidence, so Nicole wasn’t contaminating anything. They still had a job to do. Now, all she had to do was pretend that her muscles weren’t spasming from trying her hardest not to visibly shiver and, hopefully, Wynonna would be more observant than usual and notice it.

“Damn, Haught, are you _Haught?”_ Wynonna asked as she gave Nicole a look of disbelief.

Even Dolls groaned at that one.

“Yeah,” Nicole said tightly. “Run Haught-blooded.”

“Huh,” Wynonna said thoughtfully and eyed Nicole’s abandoned jacket longingly.

Dolls gave Nicole a strange look, probably noticing that she wasn’t as unaffected by the cold as she pretended to be.

“So, it’s the new jacket, right? Looks better than that lame bullshit Nedley dressed you guys in,” Wynonna continued as she strolled over to it. She wasn’t nearly as casual as she probably thought she was.

“Y-yep,” Nicole stuttered and silently cursed herself. All she had to do was hold out for a little bit longer. Dolls was going back to theorizing which demon was capable of this, and Nicole was certain they were _almost_ done in here.

“Never worn a uniform before. Dolls isn’t an asshole and lets us wear whatever. Well, he _can_ be an asshole. Just not with clothes.”

“Earp.”

“What? You’re muttering to yourself like a crazy person. Let me and Haught at least talk to each other while you do your thing. We’ll die of boredom at this rate.”

“Not so bad,” Nicole told her, ignoring the sniping between Wynonna and Dolls. God only knew that they did it all day. “Don’t have to worry a-about picking something out to wear in the morning.”

“Hey, this thing’s all floofy.” Wynonna was poking at the sleeve and marvelling how thick the police jacket was. Oh, it was thick. Comfortably so. Nicole wished she had it back. “Damn, you guys don’t cheap out on the gear.”

Alright, now it was time to strike. Nicole could properly offer it to her now that Wynonna had expressed interest in it. Out of science, of course.

“Wanna t-try it on?”

For a moment, Nicole feared Wynonna was going to turn her down as she scoffed. Nicole was completely ready to silently curse her for it too, because goddamn it, she wasn’t suffering in this godforsaken freezer for no reason. She couldn’t just throw it back on immediately after Wynonna rejects it, after all. That would completely give her away.

“I’m just saying that it feels even ‘floofier’ when you put it on. Pretty i-impressive,” Nicole said quickly.

Wynonna rolled her eyes, pretending as though Nicole was putting her out. _“Fine…._ No one say a _word_ about this. I gotta be able to keep my street cred, and wearing your nerd-patrol outfit doesn’t scream badass, you know?”

Nicole wasn’t going to mention that Waverly certainly thought her police uniform was badass. The handcuffs in particular was something Waves enjoyed too. Better to save that quip for a day when she could properly enjoy it. Stammering while she shivered violently wouldn’t provide the best delivery for that joke.

Happily, and with no more hesitation, Wynonna _thankfully_ put the damn jacket on. She almost audibly sighed in pleasure as she began to warm up. Nicole tried not to feel jealous.

“Haught,” Dolls tore her from her wistful thoughts and tossed the keys for the SUV at her. “Start up the SUV. We’re almost ready to go.”

Wynonna was too busy enjoying her newfound warmth to spot the knowing look Dolls shot Nicole.

* * *

 

“Wave! What are you doing?”

“You _promised_ you weren’t going to drink this anymore!”

“It’s just a _little_ one! It won’t hurt anything, God, lighten up!”

Nicole’s head snapped up from her computer screen. Had they missed a bottle in their sweep? Wynonna had better not have gotten a hold of any fucking alcohol or Nicole was going to show her just how bossy she could be. Wynonna was finally starting to show a little bit. Not that anyone who didn’t know would notice, but it was clear to anyone who went looking for it.

Baby Earp was getting more real every day as it became apparent that Wynonna wasn’t planning to give it up. Which meant that Waverly was getting more attached to the idea. Nicole had spotted her girlfriend looking at baby sized boots the other day on her laptop. They looked adorable, but was even more adorable was the way Waves had spastically tried to close the page before Nicole could see what she was looking at—Nicole already had—and pretended that she was still researching demonic lore over some odd-and-end.

Nicole may or may not have asked seemingly endless questions about Waverly’s ‘research.’ Waves was a _terrible_ liar, but a cute one all the same.

“Tea is _better_ for you, Wynonna!”

“That tea tastes like _ass, Waverly!”_

Sighing, Nicole stood up to see what the commotion was about. Better to go in with all the information instead of thinking the worst. She wasn’t under any illusion that she could prevent the Earp sisters from arguing. Their tempers were enough to be reckoned with on their own, but together and directed at each other? Most people avoided them like fire when World War Earp threatened to break out.

She found them in the break room, glaring at one another. Nicole, reluctantly, knocked on the open door to announce her presence. Better not to startle them.

“Hey, guys. What’s up?” She asked carefully.

Wynonna practically lit up at the sight of her. “Haught! Just the person I want to see!”

That was probably the scariest thing Wynonna could have said.

Waverly shot Nicole a death look at her sister’s words.

Great.

She didn’t even _do_ anything yet.

“What’s up, Wynonna?” Nicole asked tiredly.

“You buy coffee, right?”

Nicole gave her an unimpressed look. “Do I buy coffee? I’m a cop, Wynonna. I live off the stuff.”

“Whoo! That means Waverly hasn’t gotten you blacklisted yet!”

Okay. Nicole had _no idea_ what that meant. She shot a confused look Waverly’s way.

“Dolls and Doc thought it was a _great_ idea to buy Wynonna coffee. When I _specifically_ told them not to,” Waverly explained.

Ah. _Now_ everything was clear. Nicole inwardly rolled her eyes. Sometimes these two were just….

She sighed.

“And that means…,” Nicole trailed off, praying for more information.

 _“Waverly,”_ Wynonna growled her sister’s name, “used all her golden girl charm and banned the both of them from all the coffee shops in town until further notice. _After_ she already got me blacklisted! Seriously, Wave. How are these numb-nuts more in love with _you_ than they’re afraid of _me?”_

“Because I specifically got Nedley to promise he’d lock you up if you so much as looked at a barista the wrong way? It wasn’t hard. He was _very_ happy to give me his word. And I’m not bailing you out if that happens, Wynonna. You’ll stay in there, think about what you’ve done, and then apologize to any poor person you terrify if it comes to that.” Waverly nodded determinedly as if that settled the matter and began walking away.

“Drop by later?” She asked Nicole softly and languidly dragged her hand over Nicole’s arm as she walked out.

_Yes._

“Eww. You guys are _still_ gross,” Wynonna muttered.

It was quiet for several long moments. Wynonna was pouting while Nicole restarted her brain.

But the silence didn’t last.

“So? How ‘bout it, Haught?”

She was startled, and nearly jumped when Wynonna spoke. God, Waverly just….

“What?”

Wynonna rolled her eyes and groaned. “Nicole! Keep up! I want _coffee._ Waverly’s not gonna get _you_ banned. She’s all… _blech_ for you. You’d be on the couch for a few nights, at the most. I’ll make it worth your while.” She wriggled her eyebrows for good measure.

Nicole was already shaking her head. “Uh-uh, _nope._ Not going there, Earp. You’re on your own.”

“Oh my God, you are _so_ pussy whipped! _Literally!_ And it’s _disgusting!”_

“I mean, it’s what I’m doing later, and I’m not gonna risk it, so…,” Nicole shot Wynonna an evil grin.

“Eww. _Eww,_ Haught. That’s my _baby sister!”_

She shrugged. “Hey, you brought it up.”

“For _fuck_ sake!” Wynonna was suddenly _angry._ And Nicole was right in the line of fire.

Wonderful.

“I’m so goddamn _sick_ of this shit! I can make my own goddamned decisions! I’m _pregnant,_ not fucking _brain dea—”_

But Wynonna suddenly realized what she blurted out and practically choked off her own tantrum. She spun around to stare down Nicole in a fury, as if expecting Nicole to gasp loudly and shout what Wynonna had just said.

Except, Nicole realized too late that she should be acting surprised in the first place.

“What? You’re _pregnant?!”_ She gasped for good measure, but Nicole could tell that the jig was up.

Wynonna’s eyes turned to slits. “You _knew.”_

Nicole didn’t deny it.

_“Waverly.”_

Oh.

This wasn’t good.

Wynonna’s mouth practically _oozed_ her fury towards her sister, and she stormed past Nicole violently. She practically threw Nicole into the wall as she went searching for her sister.

Crap. Waverly had _no_ idea what was coming for her.

“Wynonna!” Nicole called after her and began her chase.

However, pregnancy didn’t seem to affect Wynonna whatsoever, and she was _fast._ Nicole was keeping up, but she wasn’t making ground either. It wasn’t as if she could break out into an all out sprint after Wynonna. That would attract attention Wynonna ultimately wouldn’t want, and she’d regret it if she made a scene. Police officers were a nosy bunch. Probably came from their investigative natures.

Nicole was led to the Black Badge office, and Wynonna nearly slammed the door back into her face as she went to slam it. Nicole barely just got an arm up in time, and _dammit,_ it was gonna bruise.

Waverly was looking over her files, humming to herself some tune on the radio she probably heard this morning. Completely and utterly unprepared for the storm that was Wynonna Earp in this moment.

Nicole had inadvertently thrown her poor girlfriend to the wolves.

“You _told her?!”_ Wynonna shouted, and it was all Nicole could do to shut the door in time to prevent anyone from overhearing.

Waves jumped in a fright, and clutched a hand to her chest. “Jesus, Wynonna! _What?”_

“Oh, don’t pretend! I _told_ you not to tell anyone! What, are you two getting married now? I can’t have _anything_ to myself that you’re not gonna share with your fuck buddy?!”

 _“Wynonna!”_ Nicole bellowed out, not willing to see this get as ugly as she knew it would.

It got Wynonna’s rage focused on her, which was just what Nicole preferred right now. Waverly could certainly hold her own, if not better, against her sister, but this kind of fight wouldn’t be just a simple spat. Words would get said that couldn’t be taken back.

“You! Shut your goddamned mouth!” Wynonna hissed at her.

“Nu-uh, not happening. Not until you _listen_ to me,” Nicole said stubbornly. “Waverly didn’t tell me anything. I found out for myself. For God’s sake, Earp, you two aren’t nearly as good at keeping secrets as you think you are! You’re talking to the same ‘flat-footed rookie’ who figured out there were unnatural things in Purgatory. I’m not _blind.”_

“Oh-ho, so you can spot a pregnancy, but not when your own girlfriend is possessed by a _goddamned demon!”_

That was a low-blow and Nicole had to clench her teeth not to react to it.

To her credit, it seemed Wynonna realized that as well. She growled inarticulately and kicked the nearest trash can as hard as she could. “Fuck! That’s not what— _dammit.”_

Waverly wasn’t going to stay out of this, and Nicole would be foolish to assume so. “Hey! You didn’t realize what was wrong either, and we _live together!”_

“What, now you’re blaming me?”

 _“No, Wynonna,”_ Waves said through a tightened jaw. “I’m _saying_ that if you and Nicole didn’t notice, _no one_ could have! It was an ancient demon! Probably knew exactly how to hide itself from suspicion. Don’t go blaming Nicole for anything that wasn’t _anyone’s_ fault!”

Wynonna huffed and puffed in frustration and began to pace across the room. “How did you find out?”

“The demon practically had you flash me while you were possessed. It was claiming your bra was too small. You got jumpy when I told you to go shopping. You don’t drink anymore. You can’t drink _coffee_ anymore. You’re even more irrational than you usually are. Waves was looking at baby clothes online the other day, and there’s no way _she’s_ getting pregnant. The amount of donuts you gulp down is astounding. It was a ton of little things, Wynonna. No one _told_ me.”

Nicole’s list had Wynonna quiet for several long, horribly awkward moments. Nicole didn’t exactly _want_ to get between Waverly and Wynonna’s fights. But this one was far more serious than squabbling over who drank the last grape soda.

“Oh, you sneaky bitch,” Wynonna finally said and rubbed her eyes. “You’ve known since the beginning.”

Waverly shot Nicole a confused look before her eyes widened. “Baby, that’s so _sweet._ You’ve been looking out for her this whole time!”

“It’s not _sweet,_ Wave,” Wynonna said grumpily. “It’s _annoying._ And disturbing.”

“You’re welcome, Wynonna,” Nicole told her graciously.

“She buys you _donuts,_ Wynonna. That’s adorable.”

“No, _stop it._ You’re saying ‘adorable’ but what you _really_ want to do is get into her pants, and it’s _gross,_ Waverly.” Wynonna was practically whining at this point.

Waves _was_ giving Nicole a look that was getting her pants hot. And that wasn’t a damn pun. But then she furrowed her brow. “But, babe, why didn’t you say anything?”

Now it was Nicole’s turn to feel uncomfortable. “I dunno. I just knew you didn’t want anyone to know yet. Didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.”

“Bullshit,” Wynonna called her out mercilessly. “You two have all but _destroyed_ every boundary in the goddamn book. I’ve caught you banging each other at the homestead enough times to scar me forever.”

“Yeah, Wynonna? It’s not like we enjoyed it either,” Nicole muttered.

“Nu-uh. Waverly, you have a _bedroom!_ It’s not my fault that you guys fuck each other on the kitchen table. I _eat_ there!”

 _“Moving on,”_ Waverly said forcefully, “I agree with Wynonna. You didn’t do all the things you have just because.”

Nicole sighed. There was no denying the Earp sisters if they got their minds on something. “Alright, _fine._ I saw how worried you were getting, Waves. I didn’t want you to stress out too much over this. Not that you shouldn’t at all, but, baby…. You get yourself so worked up over things. I wanted to help if I could.”

Wynonna make puking noises as Waverly beamed at her.

“That’s not all, is it, Haught-stuff?” Wynonna asked once she finished her theatrics. She was examining Nicole carefully before she laughed triumphantly. “Ah-ha, I _knew it!_ You _like_ me, don’t you? I mean, you said my ass was top-shelf and all, but you’re _soft_ on me, aren’t you?”

Waverly raised an eyebrow at the ‘top-shelf’ reference, but didn’t otherwise object.

She was specifically leaving Nicole to defend herself against her sister’s smug and unbearable triumph. It was terrible.

“What do you mean _I_ like you?” Nicole grumped out. _“You’re_ the one constantly giving _me_ hell.”

But that only got Wynonna laughing at her. “Aww, come on, Nicole. You haven’t figured this out by now? I’m _always_ going to give you shit. Maybe not every day, and maybe when you least expect it, but that’s how we work. You’re dating my baby sister. Probably one of the best people she’s ever found, and—don’t let this get to you head—you’re pretty good at it. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to always be on your ass. _Somebody’s_ gotta make sure you’re good enough for her. Champ was a fucking disaster. Damn coward couldn’t so much as look me in the eye, but you match me shot for shot, Haught-shot.”

“Oh _god,”_ Nicole groaned out in disgust.

“I mean, that doesn’t mean you don’t get on my fucking nerves sometimes, Haught. Hell, I know I drive you crazy too. I don’t _dislike_ you, is what I’m getting at.”

“She _likes_ you,” Waverly whispered helpfully.

Wynonna shot her sister a glare. “Yeah. I guess so. You’re alright.”

“You’re alright too, Wynonna,” Nicole admitted reluctantly. Sure, she _did_ like Wynonna. But that didn’t mean she wanted to actually admit it directly to her face. It _was_ going to go to her head.

Waverly squealed excitedly and hugged both of them to her in a crushing grip. If Nicole didn’t know that her display of strength wasn’t coming from sheer exuberance, she’d wonder if Waves was still possessed. But, both Nicole and Wynonna put up with it for a few seconds.

“Alright, alright. Enough of this mushy bullshit,” Wynonna grumbled and pulled away. “If I can’t get drunk, and I can’t drink any goddamn coffee, the _both_ of you are gonna help me find a fucking tea that doesn’t make me want to throw my guts up. You guys can fuck each other later. Let’s go.”

Wynonna stalked out of the room as quickly as she arrived, and left Waverly and Nicole by themselves.

“It _is_ really sweet. What you’ve been doing, Nic,” Waverly told her with a huge smile.

“Yeah? That’s me, I guess. I want to be by your side, babe. I meant it.”

Nicole could feel her face heating up, but this time she wasn’t embarrassed to admit what she was thinking. This was Waves.

Waverly was still holding her in that hug. Nicole hadn’t been in quite the hurry to separate like Wynonna had. Waves wrapped both her arms around Nicole’s neck and started playing with the ends of her hair. Just the way she knew it make Nicole shiver.

“I’m always gonna want you there,” Waverly said quietly.

They were staring at each other, and Nicole completely forgot what it was they had been doing. Waverly gently pulled her down by the back of her neck, and Nicole followed willingly.

_“HEY!”_

Nicole scrambled back violently, and Waverly didn’t fair much better. She very nearly tripped over her own feet.

“No _fucking._ Didn’t I just say that?” Wynonna was pouting at them from the door. “Let’s _go._ I’m having a craving.”

This was her life now. Nicole was going to die of perpetual horniness at this rate. Lesbian blue-balls. Blue ovaries. There had to be a term for this. Nicole was _sure_ it had to exist somewhere in the English language. For now, though, she’d have to settle with what she had.

_“Goddammit, Wynonna!”_

**Author's Note:**

> I know that this is probably not going to end up what happens in canon. But I like to think that Nicole would notice Wynonna's taken up baking. Just look at her expressions during Wynonna's possession and the Wayhaught+Wynonna sneak peak for 2x06. She knows the sisters are acting really weird.
> 
> More than that, I wanted to explore a friendship between Wynonna and Nicole that's actually more contentious than I usually see in fics. I don't think these two would be BFFs. Because, in the end, I think they kind of compete for Waverly, and I don't think Wynonna will ever let herself trust anyone with her baby sister completely. At least, not without a whole hell of a lot of work and sacrifice. Nicole's going in the right direction, Wynonna realizes that, but she's still going to give her shit. To protect Waverly, and perhaps even out of guilt. Wynonna left Waverly for so long. She wasn't there to protect her with Champ, or a whole lot of other things. So, I think she's overcompensating a bit.
> 
> I don't necessarily think that competition's an unhealthy obsession between them. More like they're challenging each other, constantly, over who treats Waverly better. Eventually, I think they'll move past it and accept that they can work together and be even better at that. However, they're still gonna be trading barbs with each other the whole time. Because then they'll be used to that, and it's how they'll tell each other that they appreciate each other.


End file.
